Limitless Word
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 14:18 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.
  • KJV I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
  • NKJV I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
  • NASB “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.
  • NLT No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus promises not to abandon His disciples but to come to them. They will not be left helpless after His departure.

Overview

Facing His imminent death, Jesus comforts the disciples with the assurance that they will not be left as 'orphans.' His coming refers most immediately to the gift of the Spirit and His resurrection appearances, and ultimately to His ongoing presence with His people. The promise grounds Christian hope: the risen Christ remains with His own to the end of the age.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • John 14:3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.
  • Ps 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
  • Matt 18:20For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”
  • John 14:16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—
  • John 14:27–28Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.
  • Matt 28:20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
  • John 16:33I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
  • Heb 2:18Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
  • Ps 101:2I will ponder the way that is blameless—when will You come to me? I will walk in my house with integrity of heart.
  • Hos 6:3So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.
  • 2 Th 2:16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope,
  • Isa 51:12“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
  • Isa 43:1Now this is what the LORD says—He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine!
  • Hos 14:3Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
  • 2 Cor 1:2–6Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Isa 66:11–13so that you may nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you may drink deeply and delight yourselves in her glorious abundance.
  • Lam 5:3We have become fatherless orphans; our mothers are widows.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 14:18YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 14:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.